U.S. Anti-Doping Agency brings charges against Lance Armstrong

AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is
bringing doping charges against seven-time Tour de France winner Lance
Armstrong, threatening to strip his victories in the storied cycling
race.

Armstrong could face a lifetime ban from the sport if he is
found to have used performance-enhancing drugs. The move by USADA
immediately bans him from competing in triathlons, which he turned to
after he retired from cycling last year.

Armstrong, in a statement today, dismissed any doping allegations as "baseless" and
"motivated by spite" and noted they came just months after federal
prosecutors closed a two-year criminal investigation against the cyclist
without bringing an indictment.

The charges by USADA were first reported by the Washington Post.

USADA's
letter to Armstrong informing him of the charges also said the agency
was bringing doping charges against Johan Bruyneel, manager of
Armstrong's winning teams; team doctors Pedro Celaya and Luis Garcia del
Moral; team trainer Pepe Marti, and consulting doctor Michele Ferrari.

The
USADA letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press,
accuses Armstrong of using and promoting the use of the blood booster
EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, human growth hormone and
anti-inflammatory steroids. The letter doesn't cite specific examples,
but says the charges are based on evidence gathered in an investigation
of Armstrong's teams, including witnesses who aren't named in the
letter.

According to USADA's letter, "numerous riders, team
personnel and others will testify" they either saw Armstrong dope or
heard him tell them he used EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and
cortisone from 1996 to 2005. Armstrong won the Tour de France every year
from 1999-2005.

It also says blood collections obtained by
cycling's governing body in 2009 and 2010 are "fully consistent with
blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions."
Armstrong came out of retirement to race in the Tour de France those two
years.

USADA officials had said they would pursue possible
charges against Armstrong even after federal criminal investigators had
closed their case.

In a letter to the USADA last week, Armstrong
attorney Robert Luskin noted that USADA Chief Executive Officer Travis
Tygart participated in witness interviews with federal investigator Jeff
Novitzky during the criminal investigation.

"It is a vendetta,
which has nothing to do with learning the truth and everything to do
with settling a score and garnering publicity at Lance's expense,"
Luskin's letter said.

Tygart did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Armstrong,
who has been in France training for a triathlon, maintained his
innocence, saying in a statement: "I have never doped, and, unlike many
of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years
with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never
failed one."